WINCHESTER — A request to create a sanitary district for the Wilde Acres/Mountain Falls Park private subdivision was denied unanimously by the Frederick County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday night.

A sanitary district is a special district established by a local governing body in which residents pay fees for road maintenance and other improvements. Virginia law permits neighborhood residents to submit a petition to their local governing body to create a sanitary district.

Last April, 63 residents from Wild Acres/Mountain Falls Park petitioned the county to establish a sanitary district because they felt their property owner’s association wasn’t taking care of the subdivision’s roads.

The 960-acre community is located in southwestern Frederick County. It has 2,079 lots, of which 504 are developed, and about 1,400 property owners. The subdivision has 27 miles of planned roads; about 25 miles are developed. The existing roads are a mixture of tar and chip, gravel and dirt.

A public hearing on the matter was held in June, but the board postponed its vote give to the county’s Public Works Committee time to develop guidelines, procedures and a cost estimate for creating a sanitary district. A subcommittee estimated it would cost $500,000 annually to operate and maintain roads in the subdivision.

Ninety-two residents have expressed support for a sanitary district, according to County Administrator Kris Tierney. Three said they opposed it.

To become a sanitary district, it must be shown that at least 50 percent of property owners within the proposed district want it. About 700 signatures are needed to create a district for Wilde Acres/Mountain Falls Park, but that amount was unable to be collected by Wednesday night’s meeting and public hearing.

Resident Beth Shalap, who was the only person who spoke at Wednesday night’s public hearing, told the board she disagreed with its interpretation of state code that requires signatures form 50 percent of property owners.

Shalap said the law is “vague” and “gives little guidance,” so she contacted Del. Chris Collins, R-Frederick County, to get a legal opinion from the state attorney general’s office on what the 50-percent requirement actually means.

Collins agreed to write a letter to the attorney general. He told The Star on Thursday there is no timeline for when he can expect a response.

Shalap asked the supervisors to postpone their vote until a response is received.

“I feel that voting on this matter tonight without having received clarification from the attorney general would be unfair to all the residents of Mountain Falls Park who signed a petition making the request to have Mountain Falls Park become a sanitary district,” she said.

But the supervisors decided to vote on the matter because they felt it had dragged on too long.

They voted against creating a sanitary district because they felt the subdivision did not meet the requirements, but they said residents could apply again at a later date.

Attending the meeting at the County Administration Building was Chairman Charles DeHaven Jr. and supervisors Gary Lofton, J. Douglas McCarthy, Blaine Dunn, Shannon Trout, Bob Wells and Judith McCann-Slaughter.